SUNYergy V.2 No.3 Universal Borrowing

		July 2000 Volume 2 Number 3 Page 5
	SUNY Universal Borrowing Libraries Wherever You Are

In His Own Words
David Ritchie, Impressions of NAUUG

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Link to the OLIS Committees List

One of the SUNYConnect goals is to make all of the library collections around the SUNY system more accessible to any SUNY student, faculty or staff member. A fully implemented SUNYConnect would allow any SUNY student

to search any and all SUNY library catalogs
to borrow any circulating library material from any SUNY library regardless of location
to have that library material delivered within two to three days.

Most of this scenario falls under the rubrics of "universal borrowing" or "patron initiated borrowing." Such services have been basic assumptions behind the SUNYConnect project from the beginning. Recently, the SUNYConnect Advisory Council (S.A.C.) has approved various policy statements in this regard:

Universal Borrowing...

Borrowing will be unmediated;
To facilitate implementation of patron-initiated borrowing in the SUNYConnect LMS, uniform borrowing privileges will be utilized;
Uniform borrowing privileges will be promulgated within the context of SUNY Open Access Policies;
Requests for copies of electronic resources available only from specific SUNY institutions and for photocopies of print materials are not considered patron-initiated borrowing and will continue to be handled via the usual ILL procedures;
Borrowing and lending arrangements outside of SUNYConnect are beyond the scope of the SUNYConnect project. 'Uniform privileges' applies only to patron initiated borrowing between SUNYConnect campuses (e.g., all students at SUNYConnect campuses could have a uniform 4-week, non-renewable, 10 item limit, for the main circulating collection). Each library will still need local policies for students, faculty and staff; borrowing policies outside of SUNYConnect; and lending rules for special collections.

SUNYConnect Advisory Council June 13, 2000

To reiterate a few points: these services are considered circulation functions rather than inter-library loan; Ex Libris and S.A.C. recommend the establishment of standardized borrowing privileges for these patron- initiated SUNY-to-SUNY loans; SUNYConnect libraries will still have complete control over circulation policies within their own, individual community.

This SUNYConnect goal of "universal borrowing" and the S.A.C. policy statements on the topic build on the tradition of "Open Access" within SUNY. "Open Access, is defined as a policy under which the library of any of the State University units will provide direct service, including in-person loan of unrestricted and available library materials to any eligible member of the State University community." Open Access Policy State University of New York Policy Handbook, No. 130 (Revised Edition 1981)

The Open Access policy statements, a list of participants and commentaries can be found at http://olis.sysadm.suny.edu/policies.htm

A significant amount of work is still required to reach this goal of universal borrowing. The work includes technological tasks, project implementations, political and policy decisions. Some of the details are still to be worked out. But achieving the goal is to benefit all of the State University of New York.